Neymar should have left Barcelona for Man City, not PSG, claims Suarez

Suraj Radia

• 5 Mar 2023 12:24 GMT
• 2 min read

Luis Suarez has revealed how he urged Neymar not to leave Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain and believed that a move to Manchester City would have been better for him.

Neymar became the most expensive player of all-time in 2017 when PSG activated his €222 million release clause, breaking up Barcelona’s legendary frontline with him, Lionel Messi and Suarez.

Despite continuing to establish himself as one of the best players in the world since his move, Neymar has struggled with injuries during his time in Paris and has failed to build on the success he achieved with Barcelona, with PSG reportedly open to selling him.

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Suarez told Brazilian outlet Placar that he was hurt by Neymar’s departure and questioned the decision to leave Barca for France instead of the Premier League with City.

“Yes [we asked him to stay],” Suarez said. “It hurt a lot for us as Neymar's friends and [teammates] because in pre-season, when we sat down to talk about it, he would tell us: 'no, no'.

“I didn't like to talk about it very much, but there came a time when it was already a big ball, so we went to talk to Neymar and said: 'Ney, if you want to win everything stay here with us. He would listen to us and say 'yes, yes, I want to stay'.

“We, as friends, advise him to stay, but it's his decision, his family's. We said: 'Neymar, England is better. [Manchester] City, that football will be better there. But in France?'.

“We understood that French football had grown a lot, too, but at the time we said that the best thing was for him to stay with us.“

Suarez: Neymar would have won Ballon d’Or at Barca

Neymar has won 12 trophies during his time at PSG but he has yet to add to his Champions League title with Barca and has not been voted in the top three of the Ballon d’Or since his final year in Spain.

Suarez admitted his belief that Neymar would have become the best player in the world had he stayed at Barcelona and would have eventually won the Ballon d’Or.

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“If Neymar had stayed at Barcelona he would have won a Ballon d'Or for sure. My view is that if he had stayed he would have won, yes,” Suarez said.

“For us, Messi was the best in the world and for me Neymar was the second best, but they helped me to win the Golden Boot. I will always be grateful.”